William lotz



PATENTED FEB. 2., 1904.

W. LOTZ.

GAME DEVICE.

APPLIOATIoN FILED APB. 2o, 190s.

N0 MODEL.

'WITNESS/Ss QM M -0 TTAURNEYS Patented February 2, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM LOTZ, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

GAME DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 750,988, dated February2, 1904.

Application iled April 20, 1903. Serial No. 153,366. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM LoTz, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State ofV New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game Devices, ofwhich the followother objects in view the invention consists in a gamedevice or apparatus of the class speciiied constructed as hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, ofwhich the accompanying drawings form a part, in which the separate partsof my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters ineach of the views, and in which- Figure l is a plan view of a gamedevice or apparatus involving my invention; Fig. 2, a longitudinalsection on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a plan view, on an enlargedscale, of a part of the apparatus shown in Figs. l and 2; and Fig. 4, ahorizontal section thereof.

In the practice of my invention I provide a table @,which may be of anydesired length and of any suitable width, and the central longitudinalportion a2 of this table forms the alleyway, at the opposite sides ofwhich are shallow gutters or races a3 and at the rear end of which is apit @the floor of which converges toward a central opening a5, in whichis hinged a door a6, the hinge of the door being at a7. The door a isprovided at one end with a' downwardly and outwardly directed member as,to which is hinged or pivoted at a a rod which is composed of two partshinged or pivoted together at b2, and this rod passes through keepersb3, suspended beneath the table and extends the full length thereof, andby pushing or pulling on the front end of said rod at the front end ofthe table the door a5 may be opened or closed, as will be readilyunderstood.

At or near the front end of the table is a transverse groove or gutterc, in which-visV placed a transversely-movable block-(Z, and pivotedthereto and adapted to swing-i in a horizontal plane is aball-projecting device e, and the transverse 'groove or gutter-cpreferably communicates with the races or gutters a3. rI`heball-projecting device e consists ofl a handle portion e2, which isprovided with a central longitudinal chamber e3, and passingtherethrough is a rod et, provided at its outerv end with a knob orhandle e5, and the inner end of the handle portion e2 of theball-projecting device is provided with an extension e, which ispreferably elliptical in longitudinal section, while the outer end ofwhich is beveled or conical, as shown at e7, and I also provide twovsegmental jaws f, having shanks f2, and these jaws are pivotallyconnected by transverse plates f and pins f", which are passedtherethrough, and a similar pin f is passed through the plates f3 andthrough the vend of the rod within the chamber e2 with a collar z, andbetween said collar and the outer end of the handle member is placed astrong spiral spring if, and this spring serves to force the parts ofthe ball -projecting device into the position shown in Fig. 4.

Longitudinally of the bottom of the table a is placed a runway t', whichextends from the door a6 to the front end of the table, and this runwayis connected with the table o by any suitable supports 2, and thesupportinglegs of the table are preferably connected with the' runwayc', as shown at fit, although these legs may be connected directly withthe table, if desired, or said table may be supported in any preferredway. The table a is also provided with raised side wallsj and with arear pit-wall f2, and in practice the usual pins lo are employed, andthese pins may be of anyy desired size and are preferably much smallerIOO than ordinary tenpins of the class. I also provide a ball m, whichis preferably similar to an ordinary billiard-ball, and in order to playthis game the pins 7c are set up in the usual manner and the ball m isplaced between the jaws f. The rod e is then drawn outwardly to thelimit of its movement, and in this operation the shanks f2 of the jawsfare spread apart or separated by the conical or rounded end of thehandle member e5, and when the rod e* is released it will be forced bythe spring if in the direction of the pins le, and in this operation thejaws f will be instantly separated by the contraction of the band g3 andthe ball m will be projected in the direction of the pins. When the rodc4 is withdrawn outwardly or backwardly, the jaws f close in on the ballm, as shown in Figs. l and 3, and when said rod is released theoperation will be as above described, the jaws f being separated and theball m projected.

The block or slide CZ may be moved to any desired point transversely ofthe end of the alley-way, and the ball-projecting device may be swunginto any desired position, as will be readily understood, and thecounting of the game is the same as in the ordinary game -of tenpins. Y

The table may be of any desired length and width, and all the otherparts herein described may be of any preferred dimensions, and it willbe understood that when the ball m has been projected it will iinallycome to rest in the pit a* and will roll onto the table a, and byshoving the rod backwardly the door a will be opened and the ball willdrop down onto the runway c' and will roll forwardly to the front end ofthe table.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a game apparatus of the class described, a ball-projecting devicecomprising a handle portion provided at one end with a conical orbeveled member, a spring-operated rod passing therethrough, segmentaljaws provided with shanks between which said rod passes, transversemembers to 'which said jaws are pivoted and with which said rod isconnected, and a contractile member mounted on the Shanks of said jaws,said Shanks being adapted to be separated, and said jaws pulled togetherby the withdrawal of the rod from the handle member, substantially asshown and described.

2. In a game apparatus of the class described, a table provided with analley-way and a ball-projecting device transversely adjustable of oneend of said alley-way, and comprising ablock, an end member pivotedthereto and adapted to swing in a horizontal plane, a spring-operatedrod passing through said handle member, pivotally-connected jaws betweenwhich the rod passes and with which said rod is connected, said jawsbeing provided with shanks which extend in the construction of thehandle member and are adapted to be separated thereby and a contractiledevice placed on said Shanks, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname, in presence of the subscribing witnesses,this 18th day of April,1903.

WILLIAM LOTZ. Witnesses:

J. C. LARSEN, F. A. STEWART.

